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5 helpful ways to encourage your kids to go screen-free this summer
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Many parents want to restrict technology during the summer but don't want to fight with their kids every day. Here are some tips on keeping screens to a minimum while still keeping the peace. - photo by Amy Iverson
Soft fascination is the term scientists use for everything we experience in nature. And research from the British Journal of Sports Medicine shows that experiencing all the great outdoors has to offer can alleviate stress.

Maybe you think your kids dont have stress. But other terms to describe the benefits may seem more applicable, like "lower frustration" and "more relaxed." That sounds like a win to me. So we want our kids to get outside this summer. But that may go against what those children have on their bucket lists (binge watch Netflix, play Minecraft endlessly, Snapchat till they drop).

How do we control summer screen time without it turning into a huge argument each day?

Know whats appropriate. The American Academy of Pediatrics encourages limits for screen time depending on the age of the child. It highly discourages any screen time for children under the age of 18 months. As the mother of twins, though, I never condemn a parent who lets their littles veg out in front of Curious George for 30 minutes, no matter their age.

The AAP suggests high-quality educational shows and apps for children 18 to 24 months, and only when a parent is involved (again, see my above "never condemn" comment). For all other children, it suggests no more than one hour of screen time per day. Is this even possible? It might be, and here are some helpful ways to make it happen

No need to turn your home into Little House on the Prairie

Some parents can jump to the extreme of thinking an all-out ban on screens is a great way to keep kids active over the summer. Moms and dads have visions of clean, lovely children sitting at our feet as we read to them from the classics. A complete ban may be asking too much and may just backfire. A better approach is to simply be smart about how much you allow technology in your home for the next three months.

Create a plan

Get the whole family together and come up with some guidelines for the summer. Decide which chores need to be finished each day before anyone can turn to tech. The website Your Modern Family has a great example of a contract that requires chores, reading and writing in a journal before screen time. Another website, Sunshine and Hurricanes, also has a great contract idea that uses the if/then concept. If kids spend 30 minutes on certain activities (building with Legos or playing outside), then they can earn 15 minutes of screen time. The site points out that oftentimes the kids get so involved with the "if" activity, they play much longer than required and forget about the screen time altogether.

Ration the technology

Another way to limit screen time this summer is the dole-out method. Pinterest is full of printables for Technology Tickets. Each ticket is good for a set amount of screen time. At the beginning of each week, parents hand out the tickets to kids (and maybe keep a few on hand for rewards during the week). Once the tickets are gone, its bye bye screen time for the week. I love some of the rules Ive seen like "no piggybacking." This means if a sibling is watching TV and another child joins in, they also have to turn in a technology ticket. Many parents also have decided that tickets must be used before a certain time of day to leave evenings tech-free.

Stockpile screen-free activities to suggest

Of course we want children to create playtime on their own when we tell them no screens. But set them up for success by having a go-to list of ideas for screen-free activities. Real Simple has some great choices, and you could easily come up with some on your own. These activities may need your guidance, or even your participation, but many can use your help getting them started, and then the kids take over from there.

Talk with other parents about your plan

None of these grand ideas will work if your child simply goes to a friends house and plays Xbox all day. So dont be afraid to talk with the parents of your kids friends. No doubt they have screen-free limitation goals for the summer as well. If we all jump on board with reasonable, practical screen-time restrictions, itll be a lot easier to actually enforce them. It definitely takes a village to raise responsible digital citizens of the world.
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How to avoid 'sharenting' and other paparazzi parenting habits
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A recent study revealed parents often spend up to two hours staging a single photo of his or her child to post online. - photo by Amy Iverson
Before having kids, some people just dont appreciate their friends baby posts. But after having a child of their own, three fourths of new parents jump right on the parental social media bandwagon. If you have become a member of this group, there are some rules to follow for posting responsibly.

Much of a parents worry is how to teach their children to use social media responsibly. We talk with our kids about privacy, oversharing, and setting restrictions on their devices to keep them safe. But parents themselves need to look in the digital mirror once in a while. Before having children, it doesnt take as much effort to think about what to post online. Its up to us to decide what we share about our own lives. But once you become a parent, there are many questions to think about regarding what is appropriate to post about your kids on social media.

In a recent survey, kids clothing subscription company Mac and Mia surveyed 2000 new parents to find out how they are documenting their kids lives on social media, and what concerns they may have.

First of all, people without children seem to feel a bit differently about the onslaught of baby pictures online than those who are parents. 18 percent of people say before they had kids, they were annoyed by their friends baby posts. But after having children of their own, 73 percent admit they post progress pictures of their little ones every single month.

Not only are new parents letting the world know each time their baby is a month older, but they are posting about their kids every few days or so. Men and women report they post 6-7 times per month about their baby.

And while 70 percent of new parents say the benefit of using social media is how easy it is to help family and friends feel involved, there are some downsides. Here are a few tips to avoid the pitfall of becoming paparazzi parents.

Dont miss the moment

In the Mac and Mia survey, some parents admitted to spending up to two hours to get the perfect shot of their baby. That seems a little extreme. New and old parents alike should be careful about spending so much time taking pictures and videos that they dont enjoy the moment. Years ago, I decided to never live an experience through my phone. A study by Linda Henkel, a psychology professor at Fairfield University in Connecticut, found that when people took pictures of objects in an art museum, they didnt remember the objects as well as if they simply observed them.

This photo-taking impairment effect can happen to parents as well. If we are so consumed by getting the perfect photo, we can miss out on the moment all together, and our memory of it will suffer.

Dont forget about privacy

60 percent of couples say they have discussed rules and boundaries for posting their babys photos, according to the Mac and Mia survey. Even so, men are 34 percent more likely to publish baby posts on public accounts. If parents are concerned about their childrens privacy, keeping photos off of public accounts is a given.

In the Washington Post, Stacey Steinberg, a legal skills professor at the University of Florida, and Bahareh Keith, a Portland pediatrician, wrote that sharing too much information about kids online puts them at risk. They write that all that sharenting can make it easier for data thieves to target out kids for identity theft. Check that your privacy settings are where they should be and never share identifying information like full names and birth dates.

Dont be paparazzi parents

36 percent of parents say they take issue when their childs photo is posted online by someone else. Responsible social media users will always ask permission before posting a photo of another child. But parents should also think about whether their own children will take issue with their own posted photos a few years down the road.

When parents are constantly snapping pictures and throwing them on social media, it can be easy to forget to pause and make sure the post is appropriate. I always use the billboard example with my kids. I ask them to picture whatever they are posting going up on a billboard in our neighborhood. If they are okay with that, then their post is probably fine. Parents should ask themselves this same question when posting about their children. But they should also ask themselves if their child would be OK with this post on a billboard in 15 years. If it would cause embarrassment or humiliation, it might be best to keep it private.

Once children reach an appropriate age, parents should include them in the process of deciding what pictures are OK to post. Researchers at the University of Michigan surveyed 10- to 17-year-olds and found children believe their parents should ask permission more than parents think they should. The kids in the survey said sharing happy family moments, or accomplishments in sports, school and hobbies is fine. But when the post is negative (like when a child is disciplined) or embarrassing (think naked baby pictures or messy hair), kids say to keep it off social media.
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